97: Hallelujah from the Messiah

        One of the defining moments of the Easter Vigil is the jubilant release—after six and a half weeks of waiting—of all the anticipation in the first “Alleluia” of the season. Few settings capture the joy of that moment (recall that I mentioned in an earlier article that before the liturgical reforms of the Second Vatican Council, it used to be commonplace to literally bury a plank with the word “Alleluia” on it as a stark reminder of its absence during the penitential preparatory season of Lent) than the setting in HWV 56, “The Messiah”.

Here are some examples throughout the years of it being used at the Vatican and at other papal functions:
3. In the Paul VI audience hall, in the presence of St. John Paul II: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUegwg9FUiY&list=RDwUegwg9FUiY&start_radio=1

        There was a common belief at the time that keys had different personalities, just like people, because at the time it really was true that certain notes sounded different in certain keys versus others, given the system of tuning that was in place at the time which had not been replaced yet by the modern system in which every interval is precisely constructible and there is no difference whatsoever between how something sounds in one key versus another, since all keys are constructible by the same formula. 
        During this time, it was thought that D major was the key of triumph, glory, kings, God, and heaven. It’s no surprise, then, that Handel chose that very key for such a triumphant movement, the final movement of Part 2 of the oratorio. The instrumentation is also particularly revealing: it includes, somewhat exceptionally, both trumpets and timpani. Either of those, but especially the two as a pair, were regarded as particularly regal instruments that were fit to welcome a king or to show the splendor of heaven. Nothing about how this masterwork is written is an accident. 

Here are some other recordings:
2. In Portuguese (headphones or stereo sound strongly recommended here): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IrK1Io9j_Y&list=RD3IrK1Io9j_Y&start_radio=1
4. One of the fastest (and biggest) recordings I’ve ever heard: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weFJHtcxJt0&list=RDweFJHtcxJt0&start_radio=1
5. As close as we can get to what Handel probably heard, ensemble-wise: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ccuyPO1W4&list=RDw_ccuyPO1W4&start_radio=1


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